Backstreet Basketball Love Affair
by It's Nothing Personal
Summary: "I wish love was like volleyball, when you call 'MINE' everyone backs off. But it's not, love is like basketball, where everyone is fighting hard for the ball... and if you're not careful, someone might just steal it away from you."
1. Chapter 1

Backstreet Basketball Love Affair  
_by: It's Nothing Personal  
_

_xoxo  
_

_"I was better off, before I met you"_

**Chapter 1**

"Mikan! Wait!" A girl with short curly hair and green cat like eyes shouted desperately as she chased after her best friend as if she was running for her life. It was an odd start to the day, but then again, with a friend like Mikan Sakura, this wasn't even close to being considered as anything out of the ordinary in Sumire Shoda's life anymore.

"Hahaha! Come on you guys! You can't catch up with me if you're running sooooooooooo slowly!" The brunette laughed joyfully with a wide grin plastered on her face as she skipped merrily away, ignoring the curious stares of by-passers.

"Hotaru! Do something!" Sumire exclaimed in panic at the raven-haired girl running along side her calmly, who had no signs of emotion on her face.

"I don't have to take responsibility for her stupidity." She answered back simply in her usual monotone voice, as she continued taking snapshots of the brunette's drunk state every once in a while with the camera hung around her neck, with the intent of using those pictures for blackmail.

"Then you shouldn't have let her drink that shot of whisky!" Sumire yelled furiously, they both were well aware that Mikan didn't have a strong resistance for alcohol. In fact, she probably didn't even have a resistance for alcohol at all, just a little alcohol in her system was more than enough to set her off into a drunken state, as she was in right now.

"I'm only here for the pictures," Hotaru stated bluntly.

Sumire was at her limit, she wanted to help Mikan, she really did, for the brunette had helped her countless times before, now, it was HER turn to help her friend, yet, she couldn't do anything. "Alright Hotaru, you win." She told the raven-haired girl who looked at her, expressionless. "I'm willing to pay you $100 in cash if you help me."

The greedy blackmailer's eyes instantly turned into dollar signs at the thought of making easy money, "Deal," She responded immediately as her running pace suddenly sped up, leaving Sumire in the dust. Knowing Mikan the longest and best, it wasn't hard to for Hotaru to tell what she was thinking about, her simple minded friend was always so transparent after all. But that was what Hotaru loved most about her, that her simpleness meant that she was always genuine and truthful.

"Hotaru wait! Where is she going?" Sumire screamed after her in a frustrated manner unsure if she really was going to help or taking off again as she usually does when there is too much trouble for her.

"To find the source of that idiot's anger." Hotaru yelled back.

Sumire stopped running, "She doesn't mean..." Realisation struck, and without any hesitation, she flagged a cab and hurried to the find the bastard who broke her best friend's heart.

* * *

"Helloooo!" Mikan greeted everyone cheerfully when she arrived at a basketball court. It was an indoor basketball stadium located just opposite her school, Alice Academy. The floor was so glossy that it could almost pass off as a mirror, hoops that looked as if someone bothered to climb up and polish them everyday, and a plethora of stray basketballs that still had that new smell of rubber lying around. This place was the training ground for many different basketball clubs as there were many indoor and outdoor courts available to the public. And it just so happened that today was the training day for one of the most well-known basketball club, **the sharks**.

"Whoa, whose chick is this?" One of the members of the team announced loudly when he saw Mikan, attracting the attention of his teammates who were all gearing up for training.

"What a babe." Another commented as they all stopped whatever they were doing and started crowding around her, hoping to get a chance to check her out from head to toe.

"I'm looking for Sugimoto Kai, is he here?" She asked as she let out a girlish giggle, as if she were shy from all the attention. This only sparked the interest of the boys even more.

"Mikan, what a surprise." A teenage guy about sixteen, Mikan's age, drawled sarcastically as he ran his fingers through his platinum blonde hair, his piercing grey eyes looked down at her petite frame arrogantly as he walked over.

"Aw man, she's your girl?" One of the basketballers asked him with a hint of disappointment in his tone.

"Well, sorta.." He replied nonchalantly with a shrug, seeing how much attention Mikan was getting, he surely wasn't going to let this chance to boast to his teammates slip away. Kai was the type of guy who loved being in the centre of attention after all, and it only boosted his already inflated ego.

Everyone groaned.

"Hey you," Mikan greeted Kai with a sweet smile, "Bastard." She swore so politely that the vulgarity didn't seem like a bad word. With her smile still in place, she tilted her head slightly to one side as if she were taunting him to reply her. His teammates gloomy expressions changed instantaneously, roughly aware of the situation, they were smug at the thought of having a good laugh at Kai for being so arrogant in the first place and also delighted to know that there the hot chick available to them again.

"Whoa whoa whoa, babe, what's gotten into you?" Kai asked nervously, not wanting to get embarrassed in front of his friends. His eyes darted anxiously between the guys and Mikan, fearful of being embarrassed infront of his team mates. "_Aren't you here to beg me to take you back?_" He asked as he lean in towards her, whispering the latter sentence to her.

"Wellllllll, apparently not~" She said in a sing-song voice as she twirled around on the spot in a failed attempt to imitate a ballet dancer's moves.

Just then, Hotaru came sprinting into the court. She spotted her friend in a matter of seconds after scanning through the place. "Mikan, come here." She commanded.

"But Hotaruuuuuuuu, I was just starting to have some fun." She whined and gave her best friend a pout and crossed her hands over chest, as if she were a child being told to leave the playground.

"You're drunk, you need to get home before your father gets back," Hotaru told her, in hopes that it would be enough to convince her to leave this place. It was troublesome if she had to take matters into her own hands, after all Hotaru could be ruthless in these kinds of situations. She was infamously known to be the Ice Queen for a reason.

"You're drunk?" Kai asked with a frown on his face.

"No I'm NOT." Mikan shouted in his face. "She's lying! She's lying!" She started chanting irritatingly as she stomped around angrily.

"I might have fed her a shot of whisky," Hotaru explained before they could ask her.

"Hah, wait till your dad hears this." Kai said as a smirked emerged on his face.

Mikan immediately stopped chanting, and shot him a death glare, "You wimp. All you ever know do is complain to my father. You never ever try to settle things _on. your. own."_ Mikan yelled angrily as she poked Kai's shoulder hard. All her childishness was suddenly replaced by a chilling death aura.

All the other boys started cheering for Mikan, some wolf whistles were also heard. "You go girl!" Sumire shouted, as she entered the court hurriedly. She placed her hand on Hotaru's shoulder, "I think we should let her fight her fight right?" She asked gently.

"Yeah," Hotaru agreed. Her voice possessed a tinge of relief, which made Sumire smile for she knew that Hotaru was actually just as worried about Mikan as she was.

"Mikan, that's so not cool. Don't piss me off, cause you are well aware that I can make you regret it." He warned her as he took a step closer to her. As he was a whole head taller than her his large frame towered over her petite self.

"Bring it." She said as she closed the gap between them, unafraid, their faces were inches apart. "One on one basketball."

"What?"

"I said, let's have a game of one on one basketball. The loser has to do whatever the winner commands." Mikan said confidently.

"Hah? Are you serious?" Kai asked.

Everyone else was surprised at her request too, she could have asked for any other game why would she pick basketball where Kai would have an unfair advantage? "Mikan are you crazy?" Sumire screamed at her, "He may not be in the main team, but his skills are pretty good too! On top of that, you're drunk!"

Hotaru smirked, "This should be good." She took out her camera and started taking pictures.

"You're supposed to be helping me." Sumire reminded Hotaru.

"Sorry but the deal's off. I can make so much more money from these photos." Hotaru explained without tearing her eyes away from her camera to face at her.

"Ugh!" Sumire yelled exasperatedly.

"What's the matter honey?" Mikan mocked, she was actually enjoying watching the way he squirmed as he decides his next move. He who always had control over her, was going to be put in his place.

"You gotta be kidding me." He said as he raised his eyebrow and turned to his friends for help. Unfortunately, they were enjoying being by standers too much to get involved in the situation.

"What, are you afraid to lose to a little girl?" the brunette said as she bat her eyelashes at him innocently, making his friends all chuckle.

"Nah, I just don't play with them. If you're looking for a playmate, I could ask my seven year old sister to..."

Mikan interrupted, "You're just a big fat wimpy chicken who has no talent in basketball what so ever." She told him firmly, she knew him well enough to be certain that his anger lead to his downfall.

"What! It's on!" He agreed as he snatched a ball from someone's hand and passed it to her, "Need me to give you a handicap?" Kai asked as if he were talking to a toddler.

"That's my line." She smirked as she started to tie her hair up in a ponytail. All the guys cleared the court and cheered loudly and excitedly from the sidelines, stomping their feet on the ground in the process.

"Come here to place your bets!" Hotaru spoke through a microphone, she already had a mini booth set up. She couldn't pass up a chance in earning big bucks after all.

All the guys rushed to her, "I'm voting for Kai, obviously, that little girl would obviously lose! But it'll be a nice show to watch! She's hot after all."

"I agree!" One guy nodded.

"Same here!" another added.

"You ready?" Mikan asked as she bounced the ball from her right hand to her left easily with control.

"Are _you_ ready to lose?" Kai asked.

"Never," She answered confidently as she started dribbling the ball forward. She dodged pass Kai with lightning speed and managed a three pointer shot before he even had the time to turn around to make a single step.

The crowd started cheering at the top of their lungs. Her talents in basketball dumbfounded them. Some of the guys started to jeer at Kai, others begged Hotaru to let them change their bets, which she obviously refused. Mikan laughed loudly, which reminded Kai that she was still drunk, "Aww, what's the matter? The little baby wants his mommy now?" She asked in a childish voice.

"_Ha-ha_, very funny. This is where it gets serious." He said, "It's a race to 3." He told her seriously as he got ready to defend, staying on his toes and on high alert.

Mikan simply threw him a smug look. "Whatever you say," She dribbled the ball forward again, Kai used his large frame to prevent her from moving forwards as he tried to steal the ball from her. She spun round him to get away, her hair gracefully followed in a shape of a circle, before sprinting forward and taking a shot, almost jumping high enough to make a slam dunk.

The guys went wild again. "Mikan you're awesomeeeeeee!" Sumire squealed from the sidelines as she started jumping up and up and down excitedly. No one could blame her, it's not every day your best friend thrashes her ex-boyfriend in his own game.

"What was it you said about getting serious again?" Mikan teased Kai who gritted his teeth in response.

"That chick's got moves man!" The guys started to cheer for Mikan instead, which infuriated Kai even more.

"You ready?" Mikan asked with a smirk plastered on her face.

Kai nodded. He was really serious now, no more games, he was going to put in a shot, or die trying.

Mikan was obviously too fast for him though, but he managed to turn in time to block her from moving forward. Not noticing that he moved, she slammed right into him at full speed, causing her to fling away as he was much stronger than her. It was like running with full speed into a wall.

Kai wasted no time and ceased the opportunity to steal the ball and put in a dunk shot. He was beaming with joy as he laughed arrogantly to Mikan who was on the floor in tears. "Mikan, are you okay?" Sumire asked worriedly as she ran to her and bent down, but Mikan didn't answer her. She gently touched her right ankle, which was twice its usual size and winced in pain. Sumire noticed it and whipped around as she pointed an accusing finger at Kai. "Just because you know you couldn't beat her, you resort to these dirty methods. You're so low."

All of the basketballers gave him disappointed looks. "But I didn't!" Kai yelled helplessly, trying to make them all believe him.

"Yeah, right. We all know how badly you wanted to win." Sumire said sarcastically.

Mikan shook her head, "Stop it. It wasn't his fault! I tripped over his foot!" She told them, she didn't want to deal with this now. Her head was pounding hard and her ankle felt hot. Plus, the more the guys started crowding around her, the harder it was for her to breathe.

"Mikan! Don't side the demon!" Sumire told her as she patted her back.

"Sumire, stop it. For now, let's just get Mikan some proper treatment." Hotaru said. She knew that Mikan may be dumb, but she sure wasn't a liar. In fact, she _couldn't _lie for nuts!

"Fine. Let's call an ambulance." Sumire puffed up her cheeks as she stuffed her hand into her handbag, feeling for her phone.

"No! I can't!" Mikan squeaked as she breathed harder. Sumire immediately withdrew her hand, knowing what her best friend meant. If they called an ambulance, Mikan's strict father would definitely be informed of what had happened, and she would be in deep shit.

Hotaru, being the smartest of the three stepped in, "Anyone know where we can get ice?" She asked the people around.

"Our first aid is only available at the our changing room." One of the guys told her.

"But we have to get our captain's permission before letting anyone else in." Another reminded him.

"Who's the captain?" Sumire asked.

"The main 5 of this squad usually come together,"

As if they had summoned the demon, the doors to the court suddenly opened loudly and footsteps were heard, "What's going on here?" A voice questioned. It held a certain authority to it.

"Cap'!" They all greeted the captain at the same time as they suddenly look towards the direction of the voice.

"I asked a question, answer it now." He told them. The way he spoke to them was as if he was the king of the world and everyone was his servants.

_Silence._ No one dared to say anything for they knew they would get into trouble. Not one of the members of the Sharks could ever have the balls to stand up to their captain.

"Are you gonna answer it or not?" Although he didn't say it, he sounded like he would kick them out of the team if they didn't reply him quickly.

One of the guys timidly explained everything to the captain, his eyes glued to the floor the whole time.

"Seriously? A girl thrashed Kai?" Another voice was heard, he sounded like he was mocking Mikan.

The brunette on the other hand, was suffering and no one noticed. She started to sweat a lot, and felt like all the alcohol she consumed was building up her throat. Sumire was too busy trying to catch a glimpse of the main team members but with all the tall basketball guys blocking her, she couldn't see a thing, and Hotaru was looking expressionlessly at the crowd, probably waiting for the 5 to appear so she can get a photo of them. Kai on the other hand, was looking at his captain in fear.

"Kai lost?" He asked, wanting to confirm that what he was just informed with true.

The guys nodded.

"Where is he?" Another of the five asked.

"On the court."

Mikan heard footsteps and knew that they were approaching. She didn't understand what the commotion was about. Kai lost to her, so what? It's the 21st Century; many girls are better than guys in many things.

"Which of these girls did you get your ass kicked by?" The raven-haired guy who was the captain questioned Kai, he was back facing Mikan so she couldn't get a good look at him.

Kai looked on the floor with an unsatisfied expression as he silently pointed to Mikan, as if he had no choice but to comply.

"Whoa, what a babe!" Another guy said. He had a tattoo of a star under his eye; Mikan thought he seemed pretty cool. "I was expecting a tomboy or something." He told her as he gave her a wink.

Mikan glanced at the 5-team members, and spotted a familiar face. "Mikan, is that you?" He asked when his emerald green eyes met her hazel coloured ones.

He was still as gorgeous as he was back when they were kids. With messy dark brown hair in a sexy "just-got-out-of-bed" style and firm strong emerald green eyes, in her eyes he was the epitome of hot. "Shin!" she called out happily as a smile stretched across her face, as she tried to recall how long it had been since they last saw each other.

"Shinji, you know this girl?" A blonde asked.

"Yeah, we're... old friends." He answered quickly before turning his attention to the brunette. "What happened? Why are you here?" He asked her worriedly.

"Because, your friend there was being a bastard, so she came to put him back at his place," Sumire explained as she pointed at Kai as if she was pointing to a pest.

"Her ankle." The raven-haired captain told Shinji.

Mikan pouted, she was hoping that Shinji wouldn't notice. But that guy ruined her plan. "It's sprain really badly. How?" Shinji asked.

Mikan felt a little dizzy from all the running around and couldn't think straight before she spoke, "I fell while playing a one-on-one match with Kai." after she said that, she regretted it almost immediately.

"You played?" Shinji said angrily. "You know you're not supposed to." He shook his head disapprovingly.

"It's not fair! You guys can't control what I can or cannot do! It's my life!" She told him, her head was pounding even harder.

"Wait, why do I smell alcohol on you?" he said as he took in a whiff of the air. "Are you... drunk?" He asked knowing that Mikan would never have uttered such words to him.

"Yes, she is," Hotaru cut in, knowing that Mikan wouldn't give the right explanation.

"You got drunk?" Shinji said, as he sighed and ran his fingers through his dark brown hair. "What would your father say?"

"I only drank a shot of whiskey." Mikan told him honestly, "And he won't say anything. I can handle it." after she said it, she couldn't control her stomach anymore and ended up puking all over Shinji.

"Ohhhhh..." The guys echoed as everyone took a step back in order to get away from the stench.

Mikan looked on the floor, "Soory." She mumbled softly.

There was at least a good minute of awkward silence. "In any case, we need to get her proper treatment first," The raven haired guy everyone addressed as captain finally broke the ice but no one responded, he sighed, "I'll take her." He said as he squatted down beside her.

"I can..." Shinji started, but the captain interrupted.

"You have to go clean up," It sounded like an order. "I'll do it so come back as soon as possible, Shinji. Ruka, you can lead the warm up first. The rest of ya'll get ready for practice, NOW." everyone scattered immediately as he lifted Mikan up easily bridal style, making her blush a deep shade of red.

"Okay team, let's go for warm up!" The blonde boy commanded as the team followed along.

"You girls can go call a cab or someone to pick her up. She wouldn't be able to walk properly for a few days at least." the raven haired guy told Hotaru and Sumire, they responded with taking a picture and drooling respectively.

"What are you doing?" Mikan questioned, "Let me down!"

"Shut up you noisy girl. If you could walk properly then trust me, I wouldn't be doing this." He said as he started making his way to the changing rooms where the first aid was.

This **_so_** wasn't her day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Stretch out your leg." the raven-haired guy commanded as he sat down opposite her and motioned her to rest her foot on his thigh.

The brunette didn't bulge. "You know, you could ask a little bit more nicely," she told him stubbornly as she sulked, refusing to move till he had a change in tone.

"**_You know_**_,_ I could leave alone here right now with that untreated ankle." He replied, mocking her remark. He came across has a very rude person to Mikan, though even she had to admit that he was_ a little_ good looking, but those kind of things didn't really matter that much to her.

The brunette pouted as she did as she was told. He took her leg gently and rested it on his lean thigh as he examined it.

"Is this gonna hurt?" Mikan asked worriedly, she had never sprained her ankle before after all.

"Yeah, a lot." he told her emotionlessly.

Mikan's eyes widen in fear as she quickly redrew her leg from his thigh. "I think my leg just magically cured itself!" She shouted in a panicked manner, as she let out a nervous laugh.

The raven-haired teenager raised a brow at her, and then snorted. "Don't be such a child, stretch out your leg now." He commanded again. All he wanted was just to get this over and done with, why did this annoying little girl have to cause so much trouble?

"Noooooo!" the brunette whined as she started thrashing about in her seat.

The boy groaned. How old was this kid? "I lied, it's not gonna hurt. So you just sit still?" He wondered why he even bothered with this girl; he could have just called a doctor or something instead of wasting his time.

The brunette looked at him with large doubtful eyes. "Promise?" She asked, sounding very much like a five-year-old child.

Staring into her eyes, he realised how easy she could be deceived. "Yeah, so let's hurry up and get it over and done with." He told her, somehow, lying to such an honest girl like her felt as though he was doing something so wrong, he felt as guilty as committing a grave sin. But he shrugged the feeling off, remembering that he had to quickly get this over and done with.

She heaved a sigh of relief and slowly placed her leg onto his thigh again, as if she was still uncertain. "I won't forgive you if you're lying you know!" She added.

He ignored her and continued trying to fix her leg. There was a long pause, and Mikan felt the tension was building in the air. "Sooo, you're pretty good at this huh?" She couldn't take the awkward silence any longer, with the uncomfortable feeling of being restless she couldn't stay quiet for any much longer.

At first, he looked up and stared at her for awhile, as if not interested in telling her anything, but after a minute or so, he replied, "Yeah, captain's gotta look out for his team."

Mikan frowned in confusion. "_You're_ the best player on the squat?" She asked.

"Hn." Was all he replied.

Mikan took it as a yes. "What about Shinji? Where does he stand in the team?" She asked.

The boy looked at her again. "He's got brains, but not a lot of skill. But his brains make up for it cause not many players have that."

The brunette frowned even more, but this time, in anger. What was that supposed to mean! How could he insult her Shin like that! In her eyes, he was the best player in the world. Those thoughts were running through her like a turbulent washing machine. "Shinji is an awesome player! I bet he's much better than you!" She blurted. Mikan mentally cursed and took note that she needed to think before she spoke.

The raven-haired guy looked at her blankly unsure of how he was supposed to answer to that. This girl was pushing it. He was helping her tend to her leg without expecting anything in return and she somewhat insulted her? "Well if he were better than me, he would be captain, stupid girl."

Now this guy was pissing her off. _Stupid girl?_ What gives him the right to insult her or Shinji for that matter? He was getting on her nerves. "I bet you're just some over rated player that's actually not that good, but gets all the fame. Whilst the better players, like Shinji, work so hard but get very little in return."

"Are you some fan girl of his?" He asked her, suddenly realizing that it could be a possibility. After all, he had countless.

"Yeah, what about it? I'm his number one fan!" Mikan said proudly as she lifted her chin up, as if it was something that she could show off to the world.

The teenage boy blinked. She was a fan, but didn't seem like a crazy out of control fan girl, and he sort of liked the way she proudly announce she was his number one fan. Somehow, it made him feel a tinge of envy for Shinji. "Well, after today, I'm sure you'll convert." The arrogant boy told her.

"Convert? What do you mean?" The brunette asked curiously.

The guy leaned forward, closing the gap between them so their faces were inches apart. "After today, you'll be _my_ number one fan." He told her with a smirk on his face, "I'll show you what _real _basketball is." He whispered in her ear.

Mikan blushed a deep shade of red. "Wh-Wha?" Was all she could utter all she could think about was how pretty his eyes were. She didn't notice before that they were a mysterious shade of crimson.

"I've done all that I could for your ankle already, stupid girl. Thank me now." He ordered as he got off his seat and walked to the door.

"W-who would thank some arrogant jerk!" Mikan stammered before managing to collect her calm and yell the last few words at him.

"Hn, how rude. You don't even have basic manners." He mocked.

"Look who's talking!" She retorted as she chased after him.

But he ignored her, he simply walked back to the court where their training was held with Mikan close behind him, limping. She couldn't help but gasped to see what greeted her.

_Intense training._

She never knew that there were so many basketball drills, so many different plays, so much work to be done. She only ever played street basketball in secret for her father forbad her to do sports, as she was from a rich family, and her father felt that hobbies such as basketball were a waste time.

"Wow." Was all she could say as she looked all around the court, trying her best to catch every single play that they were doing. For some reason, she didn't feel drunk anymore. The headache went away at the sight of their training.

"Impressed?" The arrogant captain asked when he saw her expression of bliss.

"Yes, very!" She replied him without thinking, unable to peel her eyes off of the court. It only boosted his ego.

A smirk slowly found its way to his lips, "Good, cause now, you'd better be prepared to be even more impressed." He told her as he made his way onto the court.

Suddenly, it felt like the only one on the court was Natsume.

Swiftly stealing a ball from one of the members who was in the middle of a drill, he started dribbling it towards the ring at the other end of the court, he was so agile, so aggressive. It looked as if no one could stop him. All the four players from the main five team saw their captain showing off and immediately took up the challenge of trying to block him, all four at once. But Natsume impressively managed to dodge every single one of them swiftly, it looked as if he was as light as a feather, it was electrifying. All four of them couldn't even slow him down, yet alone steal the ball. Even Shinji was rendered useless. Finishing with a slam-dunk, his grip on the ring didn't release until his eyes met the stunned brunette's ones and smirked, well aware that she was definitely impressed.

"Damn it Natsume, you're too good!" one of the main five say as he high fived his captain.

Mikan Sakura was completely taken aback. She never knew her knowledge of basketball was so limited. Up till today she had always thought that she was one of the best players in the world for basketball, but now she wouldn't dare think that way anymore. This Natsume guy had proved her wrong, and she couldn't help but be attracted to this newfound world of hers. She wanted to know about basketball, she wanted to play it; she even wanted to be one of the players on court. But it killed her, knowing that she could never do that.

It was a world that she could never reach. She was like a bird in a cage, with her master being her strict father. Sighing, Mikan limped out of the court, in search of her best friends, Hotaru and Sumire.

"What's the matter? This isn't the reaction was hoping I'd get." Natsume said, he had chased after her after seeing her leave.

She let out a sigh. "Go away you jerk." She told him off. It was bad enough that she could never get to experience that, and he didn't need to rub it into her face. Mikan started to walk away, but he grabbed her by the shoulder to stop her. She could feel the grip of his strong large hands, it definitely belonged to a well trained basketball player.

He raised a brow. "What's your problem?" He asked rudely, as if trying to pick a fight.

"Leave me alone." the brunette told him, getting more and more infuriated as she jerked away from him, walking toward Sumire who was standing next to a cab and Hotaru who was already seated comfortably in the cab waiting for them. Mikan laughed inwardly, guessing that Hotaru had probably locked Sumire out of the cab. Poor girl.

* * *

x

x

x

It was a good thing Mikan's stern father never found out anything from Kai, so she managed to get away without any trouble. But the next day, she found out that most of the basketball players from the sharks were schooling at Alice Academy. "Hey you! You're one of the main players of the sharks aren't you!" Mikan yelled after a blond after spotting him, she needed to get more information about Shinji and was ecstatic at the thought of them schooling with her. It made her feel as though she still had a connection to him.

He whipped around and greeted her with a smiled, "Oh it's you, Sakura Mikan, right?" Mikan smiled back. Her first impression of him was that he was polite and gentle. He seemed very pleasant and well mannered compared to that raven-haired guy, Natsume.

"What's your name?" the brunette asked in a friendly manner, she was the type of person who liked getting to know more people and had no trouble getting along with strangers as well.

He looked down on the floor shyly, "Ruka Nogi, I'm actually in the same math class as you..." He told her in a small voice. Mikan was so embarrassed that she didn't even know her own classmate, what was worse was that they had already schooled together for at least 3 months! However, that was just Mikan being Mikan as she was always so wrapped up in her own world.

Letting out an awkward laugh, she and decided to change the topic. "So, I didn't know you guys schooled here." she tried starting a casual conversation.

"Yeah, most of us are students here." Ruka said, before something behind her caught his eye, he smiled; "Look, there's the rest of the main team." He pointed as two other guys who were walking towards their direction.

"Dammit Ruka, I thought I called dips!" The blue haired guy with a star shaped tattoo on his face joked, he seemed like a very carefree person which Mikan found would be very easy to get along with.

"You can't call dips on a girl." Mikan told him playfully as she smiled at him, as in greeting him silently.

The guy grinned, "I'm Andou Tsubasa, pleased to meet you." He greeted, as he warmly extended his hand out.

She was about to shake it when the other guy with dirty blond hair cut in and talked to her, "Don't talk to him Mikan-chan, he's a womaniser!" He warned her, with a funny smile on his face. The first time she saw him he had that funny smile on his face as well.

"Koko! Don't go around spreading bad things about me!" Tsubasa yelled as he punched Koko playfully.

"Oww, but it's the truth!" Koko said as he rubbed his new bruise on his arm.

"As you can see, only the three of us from the main team goes to Alice Academy. I'm not sure about the other members as we don't pry into their private lives." Ruka explained as the other two squabbled. It was apparent to her that he was the most mature out of the three of them, though it seemed that Tsubasa maybe the older one.

"Then what about Shinji? Do you know where he schools?" Mikan asked curiously, trying not to sound like she was too interested.

"He's the most secretive one out of us five. But I have heard something about him working part time at some bar. So I'm guessing he's not schooling anymore." Ruka explained.

"You seem to be interested in him!" Tsubasa said, sounding as if he were a little disappointed.

"Don't you already have a girlfriend, her name's Misaki, remember?" Koko reminded him.

"This and that are different!" He said.

"Natsume schools here too. But he skips all the lessons." Koko explained to the brunette.

She frowned, "Not interested in that jerk." Mikan told him as she rolled her eyes at the thought of that smug jerk.

"We're having practice again today, and if you want to, you can drop by and watch. I hear you're interested in basketball? Our practice is always open to the public." Ruka informed her, she seemed like a genuinely nice girl and since she was a friend of Shinji's he was positive she wouldn't be like one of those noisy fan girls Natsume despised so much.

Mikan's face light up at the thought of being able to watch their exciting practice again, "Alright, sure! I'll definitely be there!" she told him. Little did she know, that this small spark in her life would be the start of a massive untamable fire. And although it had only barely begun, it was already too late for her to turn back and walk away.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Mikan wasn't just mad, she was outraged. She had gone to watch the Sharks' basketball training, thinking it would be like any other regular training, but turned out to be completely unexpected. It was flooded with countless high-pitched fan girls with banners and pom poms. The most infuriating part was that they were all there for one sole reason: to see Natsume Hyuuga. On top of that, because there were so many girls there, there was no room for Sumire, Hotaru and her to sit, or even watch the training for that matter.

How was it even possible? It wasn't even a match! How popular was this team? It felt like the whole town was down at that practice! The place was so crowded and messy that Mikan could barely concentrate on the basketball drills. "It wasn't this crowded the last time we came here was it?" Mikan asked her two friends, whom seemed unaffected by the crowd. Sumire because she was one of the fan girls, and Hotaru because... well because she was Hotaru.

"The last time we came was an unofficial training!" Sumire explained, she being one of the fan girls stalked every annoucement on the Sharks'. "As long as they go public with a training date, everyone would come down!"

"Came to watch me train eh?" Natsume appeared from behind her. She was outside the Sharks' basketball club training site, waiting for Shinji to appear so she could apologize to him. He was not pleased when he saw her at their training today, and she wanted to set things right.

She whipped around, presenting the raven-haired teen a ferocious glare, "Who would want to watch _you_?" She glared at him with a look that said she would bite his head off if she could.

Natsume raised a brow, "Are you blind or stupid? Did you not see the amount of fan girls that came to cheer me on today? They ALL wanted to watch me." He said smugly.

Mikan wanted to slap him. As if it wasn't enough that Shinji didn't even want to talk to her when their training ended. Gritting her teeth, she tried to suppress her anger before saying, "I beg to differ, because I think _they _are the stupid and blind ones!"

Interest sparked his eyes. He always did like a challenge, and this girl would be the perfect opportunity to kill time, "You, you want to watch our trainings, right?"

Her eyebrows knitted together into a frown, what was this scum planning? She had to be wary. Hotaru did always tell her that she wouldn't know what danger was even if it smacked her right in the face. "What are you getting at?" She questioned.

Natsume smirked. "You become a manager here."

"No." she answered immediately.

"What do you mean no? Don't you like our trainings?"

"I don't even get to watch it without getting blocked by gigantic 'Natsume-sama we love you' signs or getting distracted by the constant bickering amongst the fan girls who loves you better."

She didn't realize she was only boosting his ego. "Exactly, so if you become our manager, you can watch our trainings and matches without getting blocked. Plus you can come for all the unofficial and unannouced trainings as well."

"Don't you already have a manager?" she asked, "A team as popular and successful as yours should already have one."

"Oh, he quit because he was getting bullied by our team members a lot." He explained in a bored tone.

"Doesn't that mean I'll get bullied too?" She asked doubtfully. There was something about Natsume that she just didn't trust.

"I don't know, will you?" He asked tauntingly.

"Of course I wouldn't allow myself to get bullied!" She blurted without thinking first.

"That's good! Then you can become our manager."

"Wait a second, I haven't agreed to anything. Besides, you can just get any other girl to become this team's manager. I'm sure they'll all be dying to, in fact. Why me?"

He sighed, "Firstly, those type of girls wouldn't do their job well because most of them have no knowledge of basketball what so ever. Secondly, if we can't hire a guy either, because most of them wouldn't want to be a manager, they would want to be the player. Thirdly if we hire a fan girl, they would think that we're interested in them and start annoying us."

Mikan raised a brow, "So are you saying you're interested in me?

Natsume smirked, "Who knows?" Mikan was about to ask what he meant, but he started speaking before she could, "Besides, you get to see your Shinji practice every day, you know?"

"Deal!" She said without thinking.

"Good, you start tomorrow, don't be late." With that, he walked away, leaving a very regretful Mikan alone thinking about what she was in for.

* * *

x

x

"Hey manager! Help buy some drinks for us!" One of the team members said.

Mikan glared at the person that said it, "What, do I look like your maid?" She asked. Being in foul mood, she was taking it out on everyone that pissed her off even in the slightest way.

"That's what the manager is supposed to do!" Another guy said. "I liked our old manager better!"

"THEN GO HIRE THAT PERSON AGAIN!" She yelled in fury, as the team members started to cower in a corner.

"Pffft." She heard someone chuckling from behind, whipping around, she was ready to scream at the person when she realized it was Natsume Hyuuga, "Having fun?" He teased.

She glared at him, "This is your fault."

He smirked. "What do you mean? You know you can just quit whenever you feel like you can't take the pressure of being our manager anymore."

Before she could answer, someone cut in their conversation.

"Mikan! What do you think you're doing?" A furious Shinji came running to her, his emerald green eyes looking straight into her olive ones.

Mikan looked at the floor with guilt, "Oh, nothing... Just, you know... hanging around." She answered nervously, not knowing how to lie to this person.

"Don't pretend. I heard everything from Kai." Shinji scolded, "What are you thinking? What would your father think?"

Mikan hissed at the mention of Kai. Guess she didn't teach him a lesson well enough. Maybe next time she'll humiliate him in school instead. "He forced me!" Was all she could think of as a reply, as she pointed an accusing finger to Natsume.

Natsume raised a brow, "Since when did I..." Before he could finish, Mikan cut him off.

"He said that if I didn't become the team manager, he would harass me!" She lied.

"That's the worse lie anyone could ever..." Before Natsume could finish saying anything, Shinji interrupted.

"NO WAY!" He yelled, "I heard you were a womanizer but I didn't know it was this bad! You keep your hands away from Mikan, got it?" He warned his own captain, which practically announced to the world that Mikan was more important to him than basketball.

"What the hell are you..." Yet again, Natsume couldn't complete his sentence.

"He's evil! Pure evil!" Mikan said as she acted as if she were crying. It was baaaad acting, and no one bought it except for Shinji, "He was so scary, and I was completely defenseless!"

Everyone in the team had nothing to say. All they could think of was, _'What's up with these two?' _It was weird to see the usually calm and collected Shinji was suddenly acting as childish as their new team manager.

Shinji looked at his captain. It wasn't a glare, because he could never get angry at this person whose basketball skills he admired so much, but it was more of a protective look, "Natsume, if you ever do anything to her, I promise I'll..."

Natsume, being a short-tempered person, was getting pissed that he kept getting interrupted that he purposely interrupted Shinji, just for the heck of it, "If she becomes a manager here, wouldn't you be able to keep a closer eye on her?" He asked, "I mean, you _do _know that she's in the same school as me, don't you." He said.

Shinji took a moment to think it through, "You're right. Mikan, I'll talk to Kai about keeping this a secret. You stay a manager here."

Natsume smirked, while Mikan let out a sigh of relief. But wait, wasn't she supposed to be begging Shinji to get Natsume to let her off the hook? So then why was she so relieved?

* * *

x

x

After a few more days of training, it was finally the Sharks' first basketball match in one of the most well-known annual competition in Japan, and Mikan was excited.

Her eyes were filled with awe as she entered the competition court alongside her team. As she looked around at the audience, all she could see was the blinding flashes of camera lights and people screaming and cheering at the top of their voices. She felt like she was the luckiest girl alive because it was only her first week at being a manager and she already got to experience watching a real basketball match first hand.

"Wow." was all she could say.

"Get used to it if you're gonna stick around with us." Natsume whispered in her ear as he walked past her, and lead the team to the benches to settle down. If it weren't for the fact that she spotted Sumire and Hotaru in the stands waving at her, she might have caused the Sharks' to play today's match without their captain.

Mikan hurriedly followed along, trying to ignore the fact that there were a lot of people watching her every move with envy.

"This is going to be an easy win." One of the members said with overconfidence, "We thrashed their team at last year's tournament!"

Natsume shot him a glare, "Don't get too cocky. They might have a trick or two up their sleeves."

"But last year, they couldn't even score a point against us." Kai, another one of the **reserved **players, added. If Mikan had her way, she would have stuffed a basketball in his mouth so that he would shut up and stop ratting her out to other people, like what he did when he told Shinji about her being the Sharks' manager. He was always saying unnecessary things

"I agree, but somehow, something feels off about them this year." Ruka added as he looked at the other team who was in the mist of their warm up drills. "They've improved a lot."

"But they couldn't possibly improved that much just after a year." Kai added.

Mikan cut in the conversation before anyone got the chance to answer Kai, "But with Shinji in your team, I'm sure you'll win!" She said confidently, "Hey, that rhymes!" She added after thinking about what she said for a moment. From the corner of her eye, she could feel Kai's glare on her, he obviously knew she did it on purpose, but she ignored her ex-boyfriend. He didn't derserve her attention anymore after all.

Shinji blushed, "Mikan! That's..."

"What, do you think you're a poet now that you've created a rhyme?" Natsume mocked the newest member of the team.

"I was thinking more in the lines of creating a cheer, but a poet sounds way cooler!" She said, excitement filled her eyes, not sensing the sarcasm in Natsume's voice at all.

The rest of the team tried their best to control their laughter, but to no avail, they just couldn't get enough of her stupidity. Ever since Mikan joined their team, she was pure entertainment for them.

"Then aren't you gonna create one for me?" Natsume whispered in her ear, the others were too busy rolling about on the floor in laugher to hear what he said to her.

Blushing, she looked down on the floor, "No... Why would I..." Before she could finish, he cut her off.

"Okay then, let's make a deal." He proposed.

Mikan raised a brow, she finally learnt her lesson to not agree to anything without thinking, especially if it had anything to do with Natsume Hyuuga. "Depends on what's it about." She asked cautiously.

He smirked, "If I manage to score more points than Shinji in today's match, you'll be my personal cheerleader."

Blood rushed to her face and it started turning red, "That's stupid." She told him.

"What little confidence you have in Shinji. I'm disappointed." He said, acting as if she had let him down, but in reality, he was obviously manipulating her to agree to this deal.

"Of course not! I believe he'll definitely do better than you!" She answered immediately, as she face him with a fiery expression.

"It's a deal then." He said as he lead the team for their warm up, leaving her alone to really think about the consequences to what she had agreed to this time. Oh boy was she going to regret it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It was infuriating.

_How were they getting away with this?_ Natsume thought angrily as he tried his best to calm down. Perspiration trickled down his face as he chased after his opponent, fully aware that if he lost his cool, they wouldn't stand a chance to win this match. Right now, the Sharks were ten points down, but it was still possible to catch up if they all tried hard enough. But he knew that his team members were falling into the opponent's trap and already getting pissed off.

"What should we do?" Ruka asked Natsume worriedly, already fully aware of the situation.

"Play at our own pace, don't let them get to you." Natsume replied as he sprinted off determinedly, to get in front of the opponent who was in possession of the ball. He needed to get the team's morale back.

Natsume was planning to block the opponent's shot by stealing the ball while it was in mid air after the opponent released it to shoot. It required a very precise timing, but Natsume was sure that he would have managed to execute it perfectly, his timing was flawless, after all. He was sure that would have managed to gain possession of the ball, he really would have... if it weren't for the opponent's foul play.

Right at the moment Natsume jumped, another opponent pretended to run pass him, but in fact he used his shoulder to make Natsume lose his balance. The result was the raven haired captain falling hard on the fall.

"_You alright_?" The bastard that caused the fall asked, pretending to be sorry. But Natsume knew that he it was on purpose. His crimson eyes hardened, and he felt his blood boil. No way was _the_ Natsume Hyuuga going to let this bastard get away with doing something like this without a few broken bones and missing teeth. He was about to unleash his fury, but decided against it when he heard a familiar voice.

"Are you blind? Didn't you see that? It was a foul! Are you doing your job right?" The tone of the voice told him that the person it belonged to was obviously furious. Natsume looked at the sidelines, only to see Mikan Sakura screaming her head off at the referee. He couldn't help but let out a chuckle, and just like that, he let go of his anger.

"Natsume!" His team members all ran to his side and looked at him with worried eyes, blocking his view of Mikan.

There were a few moments of silence, and they just stared worriedly at their captain, until Natsume finally spoke, "What are you all looking at me like that for? I'm not dead yet, you know?" he grabbed the hand that Koko offered and stood up.

"We need to put them in their place." Koko said as he snarled at the other team.

Luckily, before a fight could break out, the half time whistle was blown and everyone went back to the sidelines, with just hostile looks from each other.

"Shouting at the referee will get us into trouble, you know?" Natsume muttered under his breath as he walked past Mikan when he was heading back to where the other players were, confident that she had heard him loud and clear. She knew that he was obviously teasing her again and wanted to shout at him and tell him that he should be honored she was getting mad for his sake. But when she turned to the team captain and saw the way he was walking, she knew something was off. No one else seemed to have realized though.

"They were dirty!" One of the reserved players said.

"Actually it was pretty hard to tell." Another said honestly.

"What do you mean?" Natsume asked, he needed to know what he was up against, and this guy may be on to something.

"They pulled off those tricks skillfully. It was almost as if, they were _trained_ for it."

"Hmmm. What do you think, Miss Manager?" Natsume looked at Mikan. When she didn't say anything, he added, "We need everyone's opinion if we're going to come up with a strategy to win this."

Mikan decided to just put her worries on hold. "They aren't skillful. But I agree, they looked as if they were trained to play dirty. I think they purposely use that big sized player as a shield to block the referee from looking at what they do. Hence they don't get a foul." Mikan explained, "So as long as you don't fall trap there, you guys should be alright."

"Observant." Natsume compliment with a smirk on his face, but she didn't react the way he was expecting her to. The brunette merely kept quiet and stared at him intently, making him raise a brow curiously at her.

"No wonder there was a fat guy in their team!" Koko said jokingly, which broke the tension and made everyone laugh.

"Anything else anyone wants to add?" Natsume asked, but no one answered.

"I do." Mikan said as she pulled Natsume to one side, the other team members didn't think much of it as they continued joking around. "You can't fool me." Mikan told him as soon as they were too far away from the team to hear their conversation. "You twisted your ankle, didn't you?" She demanded.

He looked away from her, not wanting his expression to be seen. Of all people, why did _she_ have to find out? "Don't tell them." He muttered after recovering from the shock of getting found out.

"But you can't play like that!" Mikan yelled, her voice filled with concern. She knew the consequences. She did take a short crash course on physiology after all. Her father had forced her when she was still dating Kai as he was a basketball player and might get injured easily, although she was never allowed to play sports herself. Her father had this mentality that girls should look after their man's well being.

"If I tell them I can't play, it'll bring the whole team's morale down!" He looked at her, his crimson eyes looked desperate, he was really pleading her. She never saw him like that before. "I'm the captain, if the captain can't play, how do you think they will react? Who else will lead the team?" He asked.

"They can handle themselves! Just cause you're a little bit better than the rest, doesn't mean that you're all that you know?"

"They may look carefree now, but you wouldn't know how they felt like on that court when we were getting toyed around by a weaker team! You wouldn't understand a captain's responsibility."

Mikan glared at him. Of course she didn't know. She never played a real match before all because of her father! Then again, if she imagined being one of the members on the court at this moment, a part of her knew he was right. But then again, if he continued playing, his injury would worsen and he may never be able to play basketball for the rest of the season or at worst, forever. "You're willing to sacrifice your future for one match?"

"Not one match. But this team." He told her, "They were the ones that taught me about true teamwork and friendship. I really want and have to lead them well."

Mikan couldn't argue anymore. Natsume probably already made up his mind anyway, so there was no point. "At least let me treat it." She told him, "I promise I won't tell."

Natsume looked at the amount of time left till half time and told her, "You have five minutes." With a smirk on his face.

Mikan nodded and hurried off to grab the first aid kit, and dismissed the worried looks of the team members, "Don't worry, I'm just taking precaution in case the shock from the initial fall would affect him." She explained to the rest of them.

As she sprayed pain reliever on his ankle, Mikan didn't speak to him. She was worried and at the same time angry that she was helping him risk himself out there.

"Thank you." Natsume muttered.

Mikan couldn't stop the tears that were streaming down her face, "I'm only taping your ankle to restrict it's movements so that it won't get injured again if you fall. But if you keep on doing reckless things, your initial injury will still worsen." She explained, not wanting him to see the tears in her eyes.

"What, are you worried for me?" He joked. It never crossed his mind that she would react so emotionally.

"Of course you idiot!" She yelled at him, her eyes overflowing with tears, "You're going to get hurt, of course I can't help but be worried."

He blinked, unsure of what to say. "Don't worry, I'll still win the bet." He told her with his trademark smirk on his face. "You're going to be my personal cheerleader." He teased her.

"Idiot!" She scolded him and ran off back to where everyone was.

"What happened?" Shinji asked when she came back teary eyed.

"Natsume bullied me." was all she said, as she pointed an accusing finger an the raven haired teenager, and everyone understood.

"Awww you poor thing, come let me comfort you!" Tsubasa said as he stretched out his arms for her.

Koko smacked his head, "We're in the middle of a crucial match and you still can flirt?" He scolded.

Mikan couldn't help but let out a giggle. She was growing to love this team a lot, so much that she couldn't believe she didn't want to be part of it in the first place. Whenever she was around them, she had a lot of fun. Maybe she did understand a little why Natsume was willing to risk himself for them.

* * *

It wasn't long before the next half started. Mikan's worried look never left her face, "Good luck!" She told the team as they walked into the court. They all nodded determinedly, and Natsume gave her his trademark smirk.

With the restriction on his ankle, Natsume was a little slower and less aggressive than before, on top of that, the opposing team weren't playing fair. It made Mikan wonder if he could still manage at the game when he was at such a disadvantage.

But he did. He still managed to impress her as much as he did the first time she saw him play. He may not have used speed, but he used brains. He tricked his opponents into thinking something, before doing something else completely out beyond what they thought he would do. This helped the Sharks get on par with the opposing team.

As Mikan watched the match, she realized that the other team's strategy was slowly changing. They were starting to target only Natsume. Although the Sharks' strategy had changed too, if they kept this up, something bad was going to happen, she could feel it.

"You alright?" Koko asked their captain as they ran side by side, behind Ruka who was dribbling the ball.

Natsume was visibly worn out. He was panting heavily, and sweating buckets. The other team had already found out that Natsume was their key player and started targeting all their dirty tricks on the already injured Sharks' captain. "Go Natsume! You can do it!" He heard a certain brunette shout from the sidelines.

Just like that, and Natsume felt like he had the energy play another full match. "Yeah, I can't let my fans down." He told his teammate arrogantly with a smirk as he sped off to lend Ruka his support.

Koko grinned as he stayed behind, in defense mode, "That includes me!" He shouted after his captain whom he very much admired.

The new strategy of the Sharks was helping them a lot. There was one person acting as the diversion, which at that moment was Ruka. He was supposed to run straight into the opponent's trap with the possession of the ball, and right at the moment when they opposing team thinks that they have the ball, Ruka will pass the ball to the free player who would make the shot. It was Natsume's turn to be the supporter, in case anything went wrong, and Koko and Tsubasa were on their defensive mode.

But this time was different. This time, they weren't after the ball, they were after Natsume.

As soon as Ruka ran behind the plumb opposing member, they started tackling Natsume, and one of them got to his ankle, making his yell out in pain and fall down to the ground with a loud thud. But at least, Shinji managed to deliver the ball into the ring flawlessly.

"Shit! Natsume are you alright?" Ruka asked worriedly. He was the closest to Natsume at that time after all, how could he have let this happen?

"Time out!" Mikan yelled at the referee, and as soon as the whistle blew, she ran straight to Natsume, his water bottle and towel in one hand, first aid kit in the other.

"Those bastards! I won't let them get away with some as dirty as this!" Tsubasa shouted, and glared at the opposing team as they sneered at him.

"Tsubasa! Calm down!" Mikan scolded, "If you have so much energy, then make yourself useful and sit back to back with Natsume and support him so he can sit up straight." Tsubasa did as he was told silently with reluctance.

"I can't believe I let that happened!" Ruka said, "Can you still play, Natsume?" He asked.

Before Natsume could answer, Mikan spoke for him, "No, he can't!"

"What are you talking about? Of course I can..." Natsume said.

She didn't give him a chance to lie his way out of it, "He's been playing with a twisted ankle since the first half, and I really don't think he can last." She explained, "So please, don't make him play anymore." She begged, as her tears started dripping down, staining the floor. It was too painful to watch Natsume play like that. Although there was only ten minutes left on the clock, it would still make a difference, especially when the opponent were all targeting him.

Mikan didn't know what to expect when she looked up, she thought they would be angry, or disappointed, but instead, they were all grinning.

"If our captain can still play better than us with a twisted ankle, then don't you think we've been a letdown to him?" Shinji said as he winked at her, "We gotta do better."

"We can't worry him like this," Ruka added with a warm smile on his face.

"You be a good boy and sit at the side, and watch us make you proud." Tsubasa told Natsume as he messed up his captains hair.

"We'll get revenge for our captain and thrash them!" Koko told Natsume as he gave a thumbs up.

"You guys..." Was all Natsume could say as they carried him to the side.

"Kai, you're up!" Ruka told the unexpected player whose eyes grew wide in excitement at the thought of playing an important match. He didn't get much chance to play after all.

"What! Kai? We might as well get Mikan to play!" Koko joked, but Kai ignored him as they walked side by side back on court.

"They're more capable than you give them credit for, you know?" Mikan told Natsume as she treated his leg.

Natsume's eyes never left the court, he didn't answer her, but he spoke, "So this is what watching from the sidelines look like." He muttered.

"Don't you feel so very helpless?" Mikan said as she let out a pained laughter.

There was a moment of silence before he replied, "Yeah, except they don't need my help right now." He told her absentmindedly, "By the way, I can't believe you broke your promise."

"What do you mean by that! If I didn't tell them about your ankle, you might never be able to play ever again!" Mikan scolded him. "It was for your own good."

"Yeah, and if I completed the match without them knowing about it, I might have lost their trust." Natsume told her. He didn't have to say how much he appreciated her help for her to understand what he meant. Mikan could only smiled as did her best to treat his ankle until they could bring him to the hospital. After all, Natsume being Natsume didn't want to leave until the end of the match. He wanted to be there for his players. They needed at least his presence there.

"By the way, I'm going to win the bet. I scored more points than Shinji."

Mikan raised a brow, "What do you mean? The game's not over yet." She reminded him.

At that moment, the whistle blew, and the match was over, "It _is _now." He told her.

Before she could reply, the team started celebrating and cheering as they lifted Natsume off the ground so excitedly as if they had won the whole competition already. Mikan couldn't help but feel warm and cozy inside at the sight of it. It didn't matter that she lost the bet, all that mattered was that they had won, and everyone including her were ecstatic. The excitement she got from being with them, the whirlwind of emotions, the warmness she received from them, for the first time in a long time, she finally felt like the locks to her cage have broken. But fate is a cruel thing, and it always leads to the least expected end.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Mikan Sakura! Get in my office right now young lady!" Mikan's father's furious voice sounded through the mansion. Mikan cursed under her breath, wondering what kind of trouble she was in this time as she hurried into his room. Her father was a very impatient man after all.

"Father," the brunette greeted as she bowed her head respectfully, "I didn't know you were already back from your business trip."

He snorted, "Clearly, you were having too much fun to realize, weren't you?" He was seated in his gigantic office chair and table, which made him look bigger and scarier than he already was.

She looked up at him and frowned unsurely, "What do you mean, Father?" she had to be as polite as possible around him as he was a very traditional man.

The middle aged man threw a stack of papers across his enormous desk, revealing pictures of her daughter working as the Sharks' manager. There were at least twenty of them, and they looked like they were taken from close proximity.

Mikan's eyes widened in fear. She knew he wasn't about to let her off easily this time. When she opened her mouth to try and make up an excuse, her father spoke before she could. "You know I hate liars." His voice was firm as it always was.

Mikan flinched. "How did you..."

"I sent a spy as once as Kai informed me." He said as he got up from his chair and walked towards her. "Don't disgrace me, Mikan."

She gritted her teeth in anger, thinking about all the things she would do to her ex-boyfriend once she left her father's sight. "I wasn't trying to disgrace you, I was only trying to look out for Kai. Being the manager gives me an opportunity to..."

He cut her off. "An opportunity to what? Bond with a man whom you're not even _dating_?"

Mikan clenched her fist, and did her best to suppress her anger. Her father was a very powerful man who wouldn't show any mercy if someone went against him. Not even if it were his own child. "_He_ was the one that broke up with me."

Her father started pacing up and down in front of her. "That only means he thinks that you're not good enough." He retorted, "After all that trouble I went through to arrange a marriage with his father, this is how you repay me? Do you know what a fool you've made me look like now?"

Mikan looked up at her father with determination filled eyes, "I refuse to marry him."

The man stopped walking and shot her a glare. "Since when were you taught to talk back to me?" He questioned. "I swear, as the days go by, you're starting to act more and more like your dead brother."

Now he had hit a nerve that pissed Mikan off. "Onii-chan isn't dead!" She yelled back at him.

He sighed, "Well I preferred to think he was." He started massaging the bridge of his nose, "What a troublemaker that one was. Now won't you just be a good girl and make up with Kai?"

"I told you already! I refuse to marry him!"

"And why is that so? He has good grades, and is athletic. And the most important part is that he is a distant relative and his surname is Sakura. I wouldn't want to give up this company I own to anyone but a Sakura."

"But I don't love him." She said in a small voice.

Her father stared at her for a moment before letting out a chuckle. "When are you going to grow up and realize that love does not exist? It is but a figment of your imagination. It's something that people cling onto just to make themselves feel better. Because at the end of it, they'll always end up getting hurt, and being worse off than before."

Mikan glared at him, "Haven't you heard the saying, 'It's better to have love than lost' ?" She asked, hoping that it would change his mind.

He shook his head disappointedly, as if Mikan had just told a bad joke. "Yeah, do you really think that getting your heartbroken is such an honorable thing."

"What about Mother? Don't tell me you've never loved her?" She challenged. She knew that her parents were without a doubt in love before. Her life used to be so much better when her mother was around. Everyone was always smiling and having fun all the time. Her mother was one of the most kindest woman in the whole world. Everywhere she went she spread joy and love.

"Yes Mikan, I loved her." He sounded as if he was about to cry, "But after she died, the remorse overwhelmed me. It was the saddest thing on earth. If it weren't for the fact that her last words were to live on, I would have buried myself right beside her grave. I can't even love someone anymore, there isn't another woman in this world whom I would love as much as I loved her." He said in a pained voice, "That kind of thing, that kind of suffering isn't something that I never want to see you go through."

Mikan blinked rapidly to stop the tears that were forming at the corner of her eyes, she wasn't about to show any signs of weakness in front of this man. Although it was the first time her father was telling her anything about her mother ever since she pass away in a car accident five years ago. "Still, wasn't it worth it? You still have us."

Suddenly he turned back into his usual strict personality. "Yeah, and look at all the trouble the both of you brought me." He answered coldly as he walked back to his seat. "You, Mikan Sakura, are going to quit that nonsense basketball team."

"On one condition." Mikan said.

He raised a brow at her. "Let's hear it."

"You don't force me into marriage with Kai."

He looked at the determined face of hers, and knew that nothing will change her mind. She was just like her mother after all. Maybe that was why he was always so strict with Mikan. "Fine. But you have to keep your promise." He told her, "Once you go against your word, I will dismantle that basketball club,"

"I'm a Sakura. Sakura's don't break promises." She said as she walked out of his office.

The middle aged man couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "She's growing up to be just like her mother." He spoke to the picture of a woman in her thirties, with large hazel orbs and short brown hair. The picture was seated nicely on his desk. The woman's features were almost a spilt image of Mikan. "Before I know it, she'll be stirring up trouble like you did when you were her age." He stroked his finger lovingly across his late wife's face. "Please help me make sure she doesn't get hurt, Yuka."

* * *

x

x

"What do you mean quit the team?" Tsubasa demanded.

Mikan sighed, "How many times do you want me to tell you that my father doesn't allow me to be here." She had been explaining herself over and over a few times already, but the members couldn't seem to accept the fact that as much as she wanted to, she couldn't stay with them any longer. It pained her more than it pained them to have to leave.

"Then screw your father!" Koko yelled, gaining cheers from the other team members who were crowding around Mikan now with the look of reluctance on their faces. They didn't want her to leave the team, she was the best manager they ever had.

"You don't understand, he's the owner of a world famous company, an international billionaire. He's a very influential man, and he could just close down this tiny basketball team without even having to lift a finger." She explained to them.

Koko's face fell. "Okaaay, _don't_ screw your father! Uhh, I'm sure he's a nice man." He started panicking, "Psst, tell him not to put my parents out of business, okay?" He whispered into her ear.

She let out a laugh. "Of course he won't! ... Wait. Now that you've mentioned it, it's possible for him to really do something like that!" She added after pondering for a moment. "He can be a selfish man sometimes."

"Don't leave, Mikan-chan! We promise we'll be good!" One of the team members said.

"Yeah! We won't ever treat you like a maid and ask you to do things for us anymore! So don't leave the team!" Another begged.

Mikan was feeling more and more guilty. She loved the team so much even though she spent so little time with them. At first it was because joining the team was the only thing she had ever done that weren't under her father's orders, but now it was so much more than that. She made a connection to each and every one of them that she was just so reluctant to let go off.

"What's the commotion about? Training's starting soon and you guys are still fooling around? Go and get ready!" Mikan turned to see Natsume Hyuuga ordering his team members about. Even with his right leg in a cast and his movements relying on two crutches, everyone was still terrified of him.

"You're training?" Mikan asked.

Natsume turned to look at the brunette. "Shinji's leading the training today." He said with an amused look on his face.

"Really?" She asked excitedly, but at the same time wondering why Natsume was looking so entertained.

"S-Shinji's taking the training?" Tsubasa squeaked, as he started chewing on his fingernails nervously. "That's it, it's the end for us, guys!" He told his team mates, as they all started crying and mourning.

"We're never going to be able to walk again!" Koko cried in fear as he stroked his knees lovingly, as if he was never going to see them ever again.

"What's going on?" Mikan asked curiously, not getting why everyone was afraid of Shinji. "Shouldn't you be happy you guys don't have to endure this guy's ruthless training anymore?" She said as she pointed at Natsume who was chuckling at the sight he was seeing.

"Compared to Shinji's training, Natsume's training is nothing." Ruka explained, "Shinji has godly stamina, so during his trainings, he expects us keep up with him." He managed to say with a straight face.

"So I take it you're the only one that can handle his training?" Mikan asked, as he seemed like the only who wasn't freaking out.

"W-What are you talking about? This is Shinji, of course I'm scared!" Ruka admitted, and Mikan realized that although his face was normal, his legs were visibly trembling.

"How bad is it?" Mikan cried out, wondering what the gentle Shinji could possibly do to them to make them fear him so much. Wasn't the trainings Natsume make them go through bad enough?

That's when Shinji walked into the court, and everyone started cowering in fear. His emerald eyes were fixed on the terrified team. "We're going to go for a jog, guys." He finally spoke after a few nerve wrecking seconds, "I'm going easy on you guys cause it' competition period. We'll run 10km in forty minutes. Even if one person doesn't make the time, we'll all run again. This is will be followed by sprints, drills to improve your elevation, which means a hell lot of jumping, and of course we'll end off with a full match. The loser team has to do more sprinting drills."

Everyone could only bid their goodbyes to one another, with the thought that they wouldn't survive the training.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go and run around the neighborhood now! Or do you want an extra 10km?" Shinji questioned. And with that everyone left the basketball court and ran off, leaving Mikan and Natsume alone.

"Whoa, I never knew Shinji was so..." Mikan said.

"Strict?" Natsume attempted to guess what the brunette would say.

But she answered differently than he thought, "Cool! Shinji's cool! He's so good that the others are wayyyy behind him! I think I'm a even bigger fan of his now!" She said excitedly as she walked over to Natsume, who was seated on the benches.

He grunted as he pulled her close to him by her hand. "Don't forget you're my cheerleader now." He said in a low voice.

Mikan could feel his warm breath against her face, which made her blush. "Wha?" She quickly pushed him away, making him hit against the back of the chair.

"Oowww." He groaned in pain.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry! Are you alright?" She asked worriedly when she remembered that he was still injured. The brunette gently pulled him slightly away from the back of the seat, closer to her.

"Stu-pid. I'm just kidding." His crimson eyes were filled with amusement.

Mikan snarled at him, "I'm not going to show any concern for you anymore!" She said angrily as she turned away and crossed her arms across her chest. Half irritated that she fell for something that low, half embarrassed that she got so worked up because she thought he was hurt.

He chuckled and sat down, "The team manager should care about the players."

That's when she remembered what she came here today for. Turning back to face him with a pained expression, she spoke, "About that... I forgot to tell you that I have to resign." She said as she slowly moved to sit beside him.

Natsume didn't say anything, but Mikan could tell that he was a little taken aback.

"My father found out, thanks to your worthless player, Kai. I was supposed to teach him a lesson today, but he didn't come, lucky bastard." She said.

"Don't worry, I'll help you teach him a lesson." He said, his voice a little lower than usual.

Mikan grinned, "Film it down for me while you're at it!"

"You better at least take responsibility for the trouble you're causing by quitting and get us a new manager." He told her. It was short notice after all, and he had bigger things to worry about, like the competition. On top of that, he needed to come up with new formations for the next few matches due to his injury. There wasn't time to find a manager.

"Yeah, I already found one. She'll be a really good help to your team. I'm sure with her around, your team will be richer than ever." Mikan said as she couldn't help but giggle at that thought as she settled herself down beside Natsume.

"_Her?_ It's a girl?"

"She's not that type of girl. I'm not sure if you remember her, but she was here the first time I ever entered this court. The raven haired one."

"Oh, the weird one."

Mikan pinched him, "Don't say that about Hotaru!"

"Ow! Alright I won't!" He said before she let go of him.

"But I have to at least give you a heads up... Just don't get on her bad side, cause she'll really make you suffer." Mikan warned. "But reassured, you guys are in good hands now."

"Yeah, at least we won't have an annoying, troublemaking, noise polluting little girl as our manager anymore." Natsume muttered.

Mikan frowned at his insensitivity. "Natsume, that was rude! Don't you ever..."

But she could finish, Natsume's lips came crashing onto hers, and her mind went blank. She forgot that she was about to give the arrogant basketball captain a piece of her mind, she forgot about her reluctance for leaving the team, she forgot about her thoughtless father. She just sat there, stunned, not sure what to do. Somehow though, she didn't want to push him away, so she closed her eyes and relaxed, letting Natsume take the lead. At the back of her mind, she believed that Natsume was just treating her like any other girl. Although it was her first kiss he was stealing, but at least Mikan knew she didn't have to face him anymore after today.

When the raven haired teenager realized she wasn't resisting, he couldn't help but feel a little glad. He wasn't exactly sure why he was doing this either, but somehow, he felt like Mikan was different. Before he could deepen the kiss, the team suddenly came back from their long jog.

The two quickly parted in embarrassment. They exchanged relief glances when they realized that no one witness their kiss...

Or at least they thought.


	6. Chapter 6

** CHAPTER 6**

"Mikan," A familiar voice called out from behind.

The brunette whipped around in shock, only to heave a sigh of relieve when she realized who had found her. "Onii-chan!" She greeted cheerfully as a wide grin formed on her face.

No one other than her brother knew that this was her secret hideout. It was big oak tree at the top of the park near her house, she liked it there because it was so high up, overlooking the whole city. Watching people the size of ants, made her feel like she was really big and powerful, instead of the weak vulnerable girl that she knew she was in reality. It made her stop thinking of her troubles, so whenever she had a lot going on in her life, this would be the first place she would run to.

"You know you're not supposed to call me that anymore, Father had already disowned me." The boy reminded her as he took up the space beside her sister, sitting himself down comfortably as he had done many times before when they were younger.

The brunette pouted and complained childishly, "But calling you Shinji is just so boring!"

Shinji chuckled as she patted her younger sister on the head, as if she were a toddler. Although she was only a year younger than him, he was always looking out for her so much that it didn't seem like they were siblings anymore, it was as if she were his daughter, "How have you been, Mikan?" he asked her in a gentle tone.

"I'm okay! I was really worried about you though! You disappeared for so long! Why didn't you ever contact me?" She said in a worried yet sad voice, looking at her brother with an expression similar to a child whom had been lied to.

"You know I couldn't. If I had any contact with you at all, I would have wanted to go back, and lose my resolve." He explained to her, " I wanted to go back so badly Mikan, I hope you don't think that I've abandoned you, you know you'll always have your big brother here, right?" His voice was gentle, and it never failed to soothe the brunette. Ever since their mother passed away, their father had grown strict and demanding of them. Whenever she got scolded, she would instantly run to her older brother, whom always knew the right words to say to make her feel better.

"I knew you had your own things to do, Shinji," Mikan said with a sad voice as she gazed into the scenery in front of her and breathed in the fresh air, "Father disowned you because you refused him… I wonder if he would do the same to me." She thought out loud.

Shinji sighed and shook his head, "Mikan, I know that because of what I did, you think that it's alright to do the same. But trust me, it's a cruel world out there, you wouldn't last very long alone." Knowing his sister's trusting and naïve personality, Shinji wanted very much for her to always remain within the protected walls of the Sakura family.

Mikan turned to face her brother, only then did she realize how much older he had grown. Dark eye circles that hadn't been there before were now prominent under his eyes, and there were a few creases starting to form already, although he was only a 17-year-old boy. Her heart ached at the thought of her big brother suffering so much, she knew that if she disobeyed her father and got disowned just like her brother, it would only cause Shinji more trouble for he had to look after her. Not knowing what to say, she turned to face the city view and hugged her knees in attempt to comfort herself.

"What's the matter?" Shinji asked her, he knew his sister well enough to be able to tell when something was bothering her.

She didn't answer him. It wasn't that she was mad, but more like she didn't know what to say. Feeling like a bird trapped in a cage, it was unfair that she had to live her life like this, following instructions all the time. How long more did this have to last? Or maybe the question is: How long more could she stand it?

"Are you thinking about Natsume?" Shinji asked again.

This caught her attention, she turned to give her brother an appalled look, "Why would I be thinking of that jerk?" She immediately answered, surprised at the fact that her brother would say such a thing.

"Why not? I mean you two seem close." Shinji simply said, he did not give his sister any eye contact. In fact, he just continued staring at the scenery normally. She was unaware Shinji had caught them kissing in the court the other day during their practice. Being the fastest runner, he had finished with the warm up jog first and returned back to the court, only to be greeted with the sight of his team captain whom he admired, kissing his beloved younger sister. He didn't know how to feel about that, hence he pretended not to know anything, but deep inside, it was killing him. He didn't want her to get hurt, but he couldn't tell Natsume to back off, as he respected him.

Mikan frowned, "Why would you say that? I've only known him for a few days…" She reminded her brother.

"Just be careful around him alright? He's a nice guy and a good friend, but he's just not that nice to girls. Or at least I've never seen him treat a girl nicely before." Shinji warned his sister, it was the only advice he could give her for now, and he hoped that she would listen to it. Without him having to intervene much in their relationship.

"Don't worry, I won't want to get near that jerk anyway." Was all she said.

* * *

x

x

Those were the words she said, but why did she find herself stuck in a situation that she did not foresee? Somehow it seemed like fate was playing a sick game with her life and having a good laugh about it. Of all people in the world, why oh why did it have to be that irritating, foul mouthed, rude, insensitive jerk Natsume Hyuuga? She fixed her stare at the raven-haired boy who was seated next to her place, his face covered by a comic book and both his legs on the table.

"Sakura-san, did you not hear me?" The teacher asked the girl who had frozen on the spot when she finally understood what her teacher was saying. She hoped that he had made a mistake, she wanted to know that what she heard was a lie, how on earth was she going to survive school from now on with Natsume Hyuuga as her **partner**? "Like I said Sakura-san, since Hyuuga-san is finally back in school after some time, I would like you to be his partner and take care of him. Make sure he doesn't get into trouble alright?"

Mikan's expression hardened as she raised her hand and faced her teacher, "I refuse," her eye twitching in a irritated manner as she replied.

"Sakura-san this isn't a matter of accepting or not, it's something I've already decided and you can either just quietly take your place beside Hyuuga-san or I will escort you to the Principal's office right now." He told her strictly, his purple eyes overwhelming with anger, he was not one to tolerate students talking back to him after all.

Mikan pouted, "Jin-Jin's so mean," She muttered under her breath as she sat in her place, next to her natural enemy.

"Can't believe my own personal cheerleader doesn't even want to be my partner in school." Natsume muttered, with the comic book still unmoved on his face, his voice was a little muffled but Mikan managed to catch every word he uttered.

"Cheerleading and school is completely different." She answered him back sternly as she started taking out her textbooks and pencil case, getting ready for class. She was unwilling to face the jerk, she actually thought that she never had to see him ever again after the kissing incident. Choosing to pretend that it never happened, she acted as she would before that even happened. But being this close to him, made her feel very uneasy, and unsure if she could pull it off being normal when in actual fact she didn't know why she was so nervous.

"Being my personal cheerleader means that you have to cheer me on and support me for whatever I do, not only in sports." He answered back plainly. It got Mikan's nerves how he always had a comeback line everything; it was like she would never win against this smartass. Although it was tiresome and unnerving, somehow fighting with Natsume made her forget about her problems and weirdly she was actually having fun. Though she had thoughts of these feelings, she couldn't help but remind herself of her brother's advise: that Natsume Hyuuga was bad news and she shouldn't get too close to him.

* * *

x

x

"Oi, stupid girl." The raven-haired teenage boy called out arrogantly.

Mikan Sakura's face changed the sound of that dreadful person's voice. He was the last person she wanted to see right now. Forcing a smile, she turned and faced the beast trying to look as cheerful as she could. "Yes, what is it?" What she didn't realize was, Mikan who was bad at lying or faking anything, her face was twitching all over at the attempt to come across pleased to see him.

Natsume shot her a look of disgust, "What's up with your face? It looks uglier than usual, if that's even possible."

The brunette glared at him as she clenched her fists, making an effort to suppress her anger. "What do you want from me?" She asked in the most polite tone she could muster, though her voice seemed to be trembling. The dense girl still didn't notice that everyone could see through what she deemed as _'putting up a fine act'_. It was already the end of class and Mikan was about to look for Hotaru so they could have some fun together, she had been feeling down all week after all she needed something to cheer her up. However, now that Natsume Hyuuga was here, she couldn't help but feel slightly irritated that he was standing in her way.

The boy snorted. He couldn't believe what an idiot this girl was, it seemed like he had just found a new plaything to pass time. "You, I need to kill time. Let's go." Being his usual self, Natsume didn't see the need to talk much. With the little things he says he expects people to put the pieces together and understand his meaning. However, he had little experience in dealing with idiots like Mikan Sakura. Typically, he would just ignore the people he consider troublesome and not worth his time, however, this girl had proved to him that she wasn't just an ordinary girl. In his eyes, she was more interesting than the rest.

"What?" Was all she said. Natsume, sighed as he just grabbed her by the hand and dragged her along with him, ignoring her screams of protest and the students who were staring at them with curious expressions.

"LET ME GO YOU PERVERT!" She screamed at him when they finally reached the carpark of the school.

Natsume gave her an irritated expression, "We made a bet, and you're my personal cheerleader. So whatever I do, you have to support me right?" He knew that what he was telling her to do wasn't exactly part and parcel of being a cheerleader, but as long as she bought it he was fine with telling any lie.

The girl's brows furrowed, she looked as if she was thinking about her next move. Before she could say anything, she spotted her best friend Hotaru who had just exited the school, and screamed for her. "Hotaru! I'm being kidnapped help me!" as she waved frantically at her, if it weren't for the fact that Natsume still had his tight grip on her hand, she would have ran over to her.

The raven-haired girl stared at the two with her usual stoic expression. "Regarding my contract, I've made some amendments to my pay. Since I'm the cause for the acute increment in your team's funding, I believe it's only right my salary increases accordingly. I've emailed a copy to you, please look through it and get back to me asap." She said to the captain of the team she was now managing, "Don't be late for practice later, Hyuuga." Totally ignoring the presence of her supposedly best friend, she walked off without another word.

"HOTARU YOU COLD HEARTED GIRL!" The brunette screamed after her best friend over dramatically.

"Shut up you noisy girl." Natsume told her as he pulled her pigtails, "Let's go already."

"Where are you taking me to?" She asked pitifully, with tears forming at the side of her eyes. Mikan being Mikan, had a habit of over exaggerating. She wondered if Natsume was going to take her to some secluded corner and sell her away or something like that.

"We're going shopping, I need new shoes." He told her, "Get on." He motioned her to the bike they were standing right infront of. The brunette didn't even notice that it was his bike.

"NO WAY. I STILL WANT TO LIVE!" She yelled at the top of her voice, she never sat on a motorcycle before after all. Her father used to tell her stories about how he knew many people who had died on motorcycles, he always warned her how dangerous it was. Although Shinji always dismissed the thought in her head by saying that their father was only making up stories to scare them, she sort of still believe the scary stories.

Natsume passed her a helmet, "You won't die."

Mikan gazed into his crimson eyes, she sort of felt like he had casted a spell on her, and every time she looked into his eyes somehow he manages to erase a little of her doubt. "Isn't it dangerous?" She asked him in her childlike voice with her innocent hazel orbs looking straight at him.

He would never admit that he was slightly taken aback at her expression, he would never tell anyone how he actually sort of felt something for her when she looked at him like that, as if she was looking straight into his soul. And lastly, he hoped that his reply to her would never reach anyone's ears, "Don't worry, I'll protect you." He didn't know why he said that, he had never talked to anyone like that for a very long time. He was always alone, and he never wanted to get to know anyone or wanted anyone to get near him. But with her, things are different; she seemed to have this effect on him. It was… strange.

The moment those words escaped from his lips, the brunette turned a deep shade of red. She didn't expect him to say those kinds of words to her, she knew she couldn't believe everything that he said, but somehow she couldn't help but be drawn to him. "Okay, I trust you alright?" She answered, her voice still a little shaky, as she hesitantly took the helmet from his large hands and started to put it on. Without another word, Natsume started getting on the motorbike. "Aren't you going to put on your helmet?" the brunette asked curiously, as she cocked her head to side.

"I don't need one." He answered in an overconfident voice, not wanting to tell her that he only had one helmet and that she was already wearing it.

Mikan thought he was just being his arrogant self and simply stuck her tongue out at him as she struggled up the motorbike. She didn't expect to have to sit so close to Natsume. She tried to leave a gap inbetween them. Being too close to him, wasn't good for her heart. It was beating so rapidly, she was actually afraid that she might have a heart attack.

"If you're not going to hold on to me you'll fly off." He warned her, as he got ready to drive off. Mikan couldn't see his expression as he was facing the front, all she could see was his back, and she was staring so intently at it, deciding if she should listen to him or not. She was so sure that he was going to act all arrogant and make fun of her if she listened, but she couldn't shake off that tugging feeling in the depths of her heart that screamed for her to do it. Before she could come to a conclusion, Natsume spoke, "Suit yourself," He said as he suddenly sped off, startling the girl seated behind him whom immediately grabbed onto him as he took off. Natsume smirked, thinking how nicely his plan had worked.

Meanwhile, the brunette at the back was blushing a deep shade of red as she had her hands around his waist and her body and face pressed up against his back. She didn't know if it were because she got a shock from the sudden movement of the vehicle or because of the situation she was in now that made her feel this rush of emotion. It had been some time since she felt so free and this ecstatic to be heading out. Her father had been caging her up for so long that she forgot what it was like to have this much fun. Though she had Hotaru and Sumire, and they were always there for her as well but being with Natsume somehow felt different.

Unknowingly, she pressed up against him even more and her grip around his waist tightened. Although he was going really fast and driving quite recklessly, she didn't feel scared at all. In fact all she felt when she was with him, was safe.

* * *

**It's been too long. I apologize sincerely to those whom have waited for this chapter and thank from the bottom of my heart those whom have reviewed previously. I couldn't let y'all down, so here I am back after a reeeeeeaaaally long break. I have revised all the previous few chapters a little as well. I hope you guys liked it. xoxo**


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